Release
by Blackbird Snow
Summary: G1. After a battle and waiting silently for a ride home, all one mech can do is listen to his own thoughts, and the music around him.


I decided to watch that infamous, animation-error filled episode, "Carnage in C-Minor," no matter how painful it may have been, and all of a sudden I got bit by a plot bunny. So now we have this. This is the first time I've done first-person like this, so it may be a little rough around the edges.

But, please, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Again.

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This planet was some kind of enigma. Everything on it is alive, not like how everything is on Earth though. There's something different. There are rhythms flowing through the air and vibrations humming deep in the ground. Even in the trees that we are now taking refuge under, there is a kind of movement and sound inside them that I had never sensed before anywhere else in the universe.

It's like the whole planet is singing. And I kinda like it.

But that doesn't mean I wanted to stay here. We aren't even supposed to be here. Another one of Galvatron's backfired plans can be thanked for landing us all in a heap on this planet. He didn't even wait for us after he took off to go destroy Metroplex. It happens with him often. Our leader gets so caught up in his own little world that he sometimes forgets there are other soldiers following him.

The rest of us were so low on energy, we couldn't even hold together as Devastator much less fly across the galaxy back to Earth. At least Soundwave came back. He told us Astrotrain would be on his way once he was re-energized enough to take us back to Charr.

So now we wait, hidden in a little hovel in this alien forest that's barely big enough to shelter us all from the pouring alien rain. In fact, I keep feeling little pelts hit my head, I'm so close to being outside. It's this planet's night cycle and I think mostly everyone has fallen into recharge by now, either slumped against a tree or laying in the moist grass, like I am. Just Soundwave and I are awake. I look up at him from my spot on the ground, he's close enough to where I could reach out my hand and touch his leg. He's standing halfway in and halfway out of our makeshift shelter, his back turned to everyone, letting the rain grace his body, completely still. His head is tilted up toward the sky, allowing the small droplets of water to hit his face, which holds a calm and serene expression. I saw him remove his face mask earlier, after everyone had fallen asleep and he knew no one would see him, except for me. I don't think he realizes that I'm not in recharge.

I'm not too sure why he came back. He could have just given Astrotrain the message and our ride home would get here eventually. But he came, and he stayed with us. I feel there is some remnant of responsibility stuck somewhere in him. I've never seen him follow Galvatron so closely before. Since the death of our previous leader, Soundwave has kind of stepped down from being on the forefront of the chain of command and lets himself linger behind us common soldiers. He's become sort of a shadow of what he once was. His loyalty to Galvatron doesn't seem as strong as it was with Megatron. It's a little odd, but I think he's more loyal to us now than our new leader. He resides on Charr in the dark, dirty caves just like everyone else, he starves just like we do, and he fights closely along our side when the time calls for it. Almost never have I seen him hanging around with Cyclonus and the Sweeps.

The higher ups tend to disappear for long bouts of time, and we're usually left to fend for ourselves on the burnt-out Charr. There's not much we can do other than mope around or spur arguments with one another just to have some kind of entertainment (we don't physically fight anymore because the energy withdrawal is just too much). Sometimes you can't help but look back on our better days, when we weren't starving, and we could set foot on our homeworld without having to worry about getting shot on sight. Some of the guys like to recall the brawls between Megatron and Starscream. Sometimes those fights were funny, sometimes they got scary, depending on what kind of mood our leader was in. Both of them are gone now. Soundwave, our third-in-command and our communications officer, is the only one left of the old Decepticon hierachy. He sits there with us in the caves during those dry spells, stuck on Charr, having no word from the outside world, and wondering if it would really be the end for us. He was always there. Just there. I think we unconsciously cling to him in an attempt to have some semblance of hope.

The rhythms on this planet never stop. I'm kind of glad they don't. They're comforting in an alien sort of way. Even the rain sounds like it's in tune. I think it was the low humming of the trees that put everyone to sleep, and I think it's trying to get to me as well. I don't remember the last time I've ever felt so relaxed. And being on the hard ground too, that's saying something. Though, even the ground isn't so bad. It's cool, but it's not terribly cold either. The friction those vibrations create cause waves of warmth to come up and scatter throughout my body. So even though I'm lacking a berth and I'm a little wet from the rain, I'm not really uncomfortable. The sensations I'm feeling right now are more soothing than anything.

I feel my optics slowly offlining, and I almost fall into recharge. Then I hear something that spurs me back to being awake. It's a soft laugh, just a light chuckle, really. I look up at Soundwave, and I see he's smiling. His head is still facing the sky, and his optics are shut, but he's smiling. Out of anyone here, I think he can appreciate this planet's spirit the most. He must be hearing things that I don't, and never will hear. I think that's why he came back. To hear the songs of this world one last time. In fact, I think he would stay here if he could. Something tells me he never wanted to go through with Galvatron's plans for that harmony they used as a weapon. It's probably been far too long since he's heard something so beautiful or could even come close to matching what is being sung here. He never really had a choice but to do as Galvatron ordered.

Then I hear Soundwave begin to hum. It's a low and quiet tune, not really anything I'm familiar with. His actual voice is really quite nice, it's almost completely different from his monotone. He still has that smile on his face. I've never seen that expression on him before. People say it's hard to read Soundwave with that mask he constantly wears, but I've always been able to tell his expressions somewhat. I wear my own mask and a few of my brothers have them as well. Just being around them has made me learn how to read faceless faces. And I know I've never seen Soundwave smile like that.

He continues his humming. His optics never open. He must be singing with the world around him. Raindrops hit his face softly, like notes being splashed out of ink onto paper, a song come to life both audibly and visually. There's a change in the air around us, it's something I can feel deep within me. It's pulsing around my spark. The rhythm is soft and gentle, and it seems to draw away all the bad feelings crossing my emotions and all the tensions in my body that come with fighting a battle. It releases me from all the weight my wartime life has set upon my shoulders. It makes me feel good, and I find myself not wanting it to end. I don't want to go back to Charr, back to the war that's slowly killing us.

The song continues, Soundwave is still smiling and humming along with it, and I just sit and listen, wishing I could hear it in its entirety. I'm only capable of sensing the physical part of it around me, the patterns in the air and the vibrations in the ground. I rest my head on the grass, and let it soothe me to sleep.

"Scavenger."

I glance up at Soundwave again when I hear the soft call of my name. He holds his pose, not looking down at me.

"Open your mind to me," he says.

He doesn't appear to be upset with me. I set my head back down, and think nothing. All I do is stare blankly at the air, not really looking at anything. I let myself relax.

Then I hear it. It is music. And it's beautiful. The trees, the ground, the sky, it's all in perfect tune. There are voices singing within it. Most of them seem to come from the local inhabitants, but there are others, from somewhere else. I listen, turning my focus on them, but I can't pinpoint what they are.

Soundwave seems to mentally hear my confusion, because he answer my question before I can even form it into words in my own mind. _They're all around you_, he tells me telepathically. My thoughts linger on that statement for a few seconds, trying to interpret what he means. There is a small gush of wind that blows through the trees above me, rattling the branches. I feel a leaf fall onto my shoulder, gently gracing my metal skin as it settles. Then I understand. The voices come from everywhere and everything.

I continue to listen, the music fluctuating in rhythms and harmonies, moving like the waves of the water over the old base, reaching its highs and lows. I can hear Soundwave's voice intermingling throughout, becoming entwined in perfect time with it. It's not just something I hear in my head, but somehow I hear and feel it within my whole body. I feel it within Soundwave too, the own rhythms of my spark reacting to the cadence of his. Suddenly, I catch myself humming quietly as well.

My head lowers back down, and I let my body prepare for a recharge cycle. My optics shut, bringing darkness to my vision, but I still sense the colors of the music in my mind. I can hear Soundwave singing, not just with the planet, but to it. And it's singing back to him, to us. It's gentle but strong, vibrant and peaceful. Something warm wraps around my spark and I feel, more than hear, that we are forgiven for what transpired here and that we may leave in peace. That's comforting to know.

I let Soundwave and the rain sing me to sleep.

_End._

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I've been writing Scavenger a lot lately. Poor guy, he needs more love. :3

Reviews will be cherished forever. :)


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